Orlando Magic Grades: Indiana Pacers 105, Orlando Magic 97

The Orlando Magic were unable to get their offense going and failed to execute, turning the ball over 22 times. It all spelled a loss at home.

The Orlando Magic were scrambling.

The Indiana Pacers opened up an 11-point lead late in the fourth quarter and seemed set to cruise to a victory. The Magic had to find points. A night when they could not protect the ball or make shots consistently, they were searching for 3-pointers.

Then the shots started falling. Evan Fournier drained a 3-pointer. Then Nikola Vucevic. Then Aaron Gordon hit a tough leaner off the glass.

All of a sudden, the Magic found themselves down by three points with about a minute to play. They just needed one stop. Something Orlando was doing surprisingly well against the offensive-minded Pacers.

It was not to be. As had been the case throughout the fourth quarter, Orlando’s over-reliance on switching every play — even to the point D.J. Augustin was guarding Myles Turner or Thaddeus Young on pick-and-roll switches — left them scrambling. And every time Orlando seemed like it was about to make a run, Indiana came up with a turnover or a shot to break Orlando’s back.

This time that came from Bojan Bogdanovic.

A scramble and reset saw the ball rotating to Bogdanovic for his fifth 3-pointer of the game and a six-point Pacers lead. The Magic did not have enough time or enough firepower to come back. Indiana held off Orlando 105-97 at the Amway Center on Monday, sending the team to its fifth straight loss — and seventh in the last nine games.

The culprit tonight was Orlando’s poor execution.

The Magic shot just 41.7 percent from the floor and 13 for 38 from beyond the arc. The team was trying to move the ball and played with the right energy and intention following Saturday’s disheartening loss. But the team could not hit shots when it got them.

The problems seemed to multiply with the way the Magic forced play. Orlando had 22 turnovers — including 14 in the first half alone. Every starter on the team, save for Terrence Ross, had at least three turnovers. That was a product of the team forcing things and trying to make too many plays. The Pacers did a good job corralling the Magic into traps and corners where they could not get the outlet they needed.

The steals — 17 of them for Indiana including seven for Victor Oladipo — helped feed the Pacers’ fast break.

If it were not for the Magic’s solid half-court offense when the game did slow down, this game might have been a blowout. If there is a silver lining, it might just be that.

The Pacers shot 41.6 percent from the floor and scored just 98.4 points per 100 possessions. That certainly should be enough to win the game. The Magic just kept shooting themselves in the foot.

Indiana finally pulled away to build an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Magic simply could not get a shot to fall and then succumbed to their own mistakes. Their defense could not carry an offense that got in its own way.

Orlando just could not get the shots to fall long enough.

At the end of the game, Indiana was executing its stuff better than Orlando was executing its stuff. Victor Oladipo scored 29 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 26 to lead the Pacers. Indiana was just the better team overall. Eventually, the team would pull away even with the pace not at its liking.

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The Indiana Pacers are playing exceedingly well right now. That is what happens when the team is on a four-game win streak. This Pacers team early in the season is a sign of just how good things can get quickly. Indiana is just in a good flow right now.

And that was on full display against the Orlando Magic. They forced turnovers, corralling the Magic and pushing them into short corners on the floor with few outlets. They increased their pressure and just forced consistent and constant mistakes. Those live-ball turnovers led to fast breaks. And that is what the Pacers feed on. The Magic and Pacers are not so different philosophically. And it is not just because of Frank Vogel.

At the end of the game, Indiana was executing its stuff better than Orlando was executing its stuff. Victor Oladipo scored 29 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 26 to lead the Pacers. Indiana was just the better team overall. Eventually, the team would pull away even with the pace not at its liking.